Hakuna Matata

From Free net encyclopedia

"Hakuna matata" is a Swahili saying meaning "no worries". Literally translated, it means "There are no concerns here."

In culture

To many outside the Swahili-speaking world, it would seem that the phrase was first popularised by, and perhaps even invented for, the Disney movie The Lion King. However, there have been previous examples of the saying breaking through to international cultures.

In 1980 the Kenyan hotel band Them Mushrooms released the song "Jambo Bwana" ("Hello Mister") which became an international hit. The song, written by band leader Teddy Kalanda Harrison, repeated the phrase 'Hakuna Matata' in its refrain. This was covered in 1984 by the German disco-pop outfit Boney M as "Jambo Hakuna Matata (No Problems)", released on the album Kalimba De Luna (16 Happy Songs With Boney M).

The saying first appeared in Western cartoons in the Swedish cartoon Bamse in the mid 1980s, where Bamse's baby daughter Brumma's first words are Hakuna Matata, which no-one understands except Skalman. He made it his and Brumma's "secret" motto, and the phrase has reappeared several times in the cartoon. Bamse was created by Rune Andréasson.

In Disney's 1994 movie, a meerkat and a warthog named Timon and Pumbaa, respectively, teach a lion cub named Simba that he should forget his troubled past and concentrate only on the present. In reference to the two characters, the phrase had the added implication of a complete lack of ambition. Timon and Pumbaa used the song "Hakuna Matata" sung by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice to teach Simba.de:Hakuna Matata fr:Hakuna matata it:Hakuna matata nl:Hakuna Matata fi:Hakuna matata